Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Entering the season of light

Last year I wrote a post about light and chose light as my word for 2008. This has been a tough year, but I choose to believe what I wrote about light, it is very persistent. And so is life. It must go on. So yesterday I did something I have only done once in the last ten years and something I've never done. My Donnie loved Christmas music better than anything. He sang it year round and would get very annoyed if I put away the Christmas tapes. I would be awakened in the night and hear him singing "Up on the house top" and it still brings me to tears. It went from being the happiest time to year to the hardest. I have slowly purchased new Christmas music over the years that didn't include that one and were different than the ones we listened to.
But this year, I decided to snap out of it (okay pretty slow snapping I know but none the less you get what I am saying) and celebrate Christmas so I put up a tree and got out some ornaments. Whew. I put up a small tree when the kids came from California a few years ago but it went up the day they arrived and came down the day they left. But now it is here, in my living room with lights and everything. Still small, but here. Whew. Baby steps.
And for the first time ever, after reading this blog for the last few years, I started something for Advent. I love the way their family celebrates the light. This week is about stones and bones and shells. How could you not love that?
The first light of advent
It is the light of the stones
Stones that live in crystals
Seashells and bones.

So I got out a nativity set I made when I was 20 out of clothespins and a cigar box that was my dad's and set it up amongst my blue collection.

A starfish star.
And then I added the stone and shells and a bone.




And one candle which I haven't been able to bring myself to light. Baby steps.

4 comments:

Laurie said...

Wonderful! I love that your image is reflected in that one blue ornament.

Unknown said...

Leau,
This is beautiful. I think these things will become the traditions that allow you to bring the others back into your life.

x..x
s

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

Those are not baby steps! Those are giant steps! Thank you for sharing what's inside your heart. I love the Nativity set and the small tree is wonderful. Still trying to fiugre out what those blue orbs are. Never seen the likes of it before. New traditions are good to create when the old ones are laced too many distractins.

Chris said...

Oh, wow. This is so moving. What a cool Nativity scene. You are a brave person. I have a sense that it's more difficult even than you've expressed. Baby steps is right. Behaviors can make great healing and change, especially internally. Thank you for sharing and inspiring.